Missing in action

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The strict rules governing the use of larger UAVs mean that police have used
small “spy-in-the-sky” devices that hover up to 120m (400ft) above the
ground.

One 900g (2lb) device was used by Merseyside Police to catch a car thief. But
the force soon ran into problems. First, officers admitted in 2010 that they
had been forced to ground the device because they had been unaware they
needed a special licence. Then last year it emerged that the UAV had lost
power and made an emergency landing — in the Mersey. It has not been
recovered.